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Keywords

contractinjunctioncorporation
plaintiffdefendantinjunctionmotion

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Associated Press v. International News Service, 245 F. 244, 2 A.L.R. 317, 157 C.C.A. 436

Facts

The Associated Press (AP), a membership corporation, sought a preliminary injunction against the International News Service (INS) for unfair competition. AP gathers and disseminates news to its members, who are primarily newspaper owners. INS, a rival corporation, was accused of inducing AP's members to breach their contracts and of appropriating news gathered by AP for its own profit. The court found that INS had engaged in practices that undermined AP's business model and violated the rights of its members.

Issue

Whether the International News Service's actions constituted unfair competition and whether the Associated Press was entitled to an injunction against such practices.

Whether the International News Service's actions constituted unfair competition and whether the Associated Press was entitled to an injunction against such practices.

Rule

A press association has a property right in the news it gathers for distribution to its members, which is entitled to legal protection. Unfair competition occurs when a competitor induces members of a press association to breach their contracts or appropriates news without proper authorization, thereby infringing on the property rights of the news organization.

The property right of a press association in news gathered by it for distribution to its members throughout the United States held not lost by its publication by one or more of its members, but to remain until all have had the benefit of the service.

Analysis

The court analyzed the actions of INS in light of the established property rights of AP in the news it gathered. It determined that INS's practices of inducing breaches of contract and appropriating news items constituted unfair competition. The court emphasized that news has commercial value and that the rights of AP and its members were violated by INS's actions, which were deemed unlawful.

The business method of selling, in competition with plaintiff and its members, something falsely represented as gathered by defendant otherwise than from bulletins and early editions, is unfair, because it is parasitic and untrue.

Conclusion

The court held that the Associated Press was entitled to an injunction against the International News Service to prevent further unfair competition and protect its property rights in the news.

The plaintiff's motion for injunction should have been granted substantially as made.

Who won?

The Associated Press prevailed in this case as the court recognized its property rights in the news it gathered and the unfair practices employed by the International News Service. The court's ruling reinforced the legal protections afforded to news organizations against competitors who engage in deceptive practices that undermine their business model.

The Associated Press held entitled to an injunction to restrain unfair competition by a competitor in copying news items and using them as its own.

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